Trinity hires Miles as girls basketball coach

A flurry of high school football coaching hires drew the ire of local fan bases, but the rumblings at Trinity considering the girls basketball program have quieted since the hiring of Bob Miles as head coach.

As far as hires go, it's difficult to find a better one.

A teacher at Trinity for more than two decades, Miles spent the past 15 years as head coach at Fort Cherry. He took a program with little tradition or success and molded into an annual playoff contender. In recent years, Fort Cherry was a Class A powerhouse and Miles was awarded the 2011 PIAA Class A Girls Coach of the Year for his work. He's also a three-time winner of the Tri-CADA Girls Basketball Coach of the Year Award.

Miles guided a group which included Beka Bellhy, Carolena Gasbarro and Jessie Merckle to the 2011 WPIAL Class A championship game, and the PIAA quarterfinals in each of the past two seasons. Fort Cherry stood toe-to-toe with private schools, though three of Fort Cherry last five losses came against North Catholic.

Fort Cherry won 49 games the past two seasons. Miles won 237 games in 15 years, and, as his teams improved over time, the Rangers drew praise from opposing coaches and even college coaches for their style of play. Fort Cherry played disciplined, unselfish and physical basketball.

Basically, the Fort Cherry girls played like a well-coached boys team.

Miles is charged with the task of building Trinity back into a consistent winner. Jackie Kotchman, one of the all-time great players in Hillers' girls basketball history, coached Trinity the past three years and the Hillers did qualify for the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs in 2012, albeit with a losing record.

Miles, who was given a three-year contract, is a proven winner, but establishing a solid program at Trinity won't be instant. Still, the Hillers made the right choice, and the obvious one.

Ones to watch at County Invitational

The Washington-Greene County Track Coaches Invitational takes place Saturday at Canon-McMillan High School starting at 9:30 a.m.

Girls javelin is the premier event at the meet as several of the nation's top throwers will be in attendance led by Fort Cherry senior and Wake Forest signee Jesse Merckle.

According to milesplit.com, Merckle has the third-ranked girls high school javelin throw of the outdoor season at 151-0, which ranks 12th on the WPIAL's all-time list. Canon-McMillan's Mira Carrozza, a South Florida signee, has the second-best throw in Class AAA of 138-10 according to the WPIAL girls track honor roll compiled by Jim Faiella. Carrozza's throw would rank 16th on the milesplit.com list.

Big Macs teammate Anna Lombardo (124-0) ranks seventh in Class AAA. Fort Cherry's Jenna Lucas has the second-best throw (131-1) of any sophomore in the nation. Waynesburg's Richelle Tharp (122-5) and Fort Cherry's Beka Bellhy (118-8) also rank among the WPIAL's best.

* With the emergence of Canon-McMillan senior Shawn Johnson, the boys triple jump will likely draw a wall of spectators around the outside of the fence near the jumping pit.

Johnson has posted the top long jump and triple jump marks of the WPIAL season, and some of the nation's best marks too.

During a meet at Canon-McMillan Tuesday, Johnson triple jumped a school record 48-10 3/4, the eighth best mark in the nation and second best in Pennsylvania to Reading's Imani Brown (49-3 1/4). Johnson's best long jump of 23-5 is the top mark in the state and ranks 40th nationally.

Big Macs teammate Kelvin Parnell should push Johnson in the long jump and Washington's West Jones and Mijerean Witcher are among the top distances in Class AA. Jones jumped 44-5 earlier this season.

* As always, the boys 100 will draw attention, and the field looks particularly crowded. Wash High boasts four of the top 10 times in Class AA in Matt Brower (10.9), Shai McKenzie (10.93), Darius Spinks (11.0) and Chivar Brown (11.1). Trinity's John Lachinsky has run an 11.2 and Canon-McMillan, which hasn't submitted times and distances to the boys honor roll always contends in the event.

Ringgold's outstanding crop of sprinters (Demetrius Louis, Quad Law, Joey Wall and Alfon Cook) are all struggling with injuries. If two or three run, the Rams might be able to push Washington in the 400 relay.

In the girls sprints, Washington sophomore Alyssa Wise is one to watch as is Ringgold's Christina Wills. Wise has the top Class AA time in the 100 (12.1) and 200 (25.4). Wills ranks third in Class AAA at 12.2.

* Dustin Fuller ran his first open 400 dash recently and posted a 49.83, which leads Class AA runners. He'll be pushed by Trinity's Josh Urso, who ranks second in Class AAA at 50.3.

Fuller owns the top times in the 110 high hurdles (14.83) and 300 hurdles (39.8).

* The boys high jump features three of the WPIAL's premier jumpers in Washington's Josh Wise and Jones in addition to Johnson. Wise has cleared 6-6 already this season.

* Prexies senior Joe Phillips had a 49-8 in the shot put Thursday against Waynesburg. The mark ranks second in Class AA.

Girls All-State basketball team

Blogger's note: Just back from vacation. The Pennsylvania Sports Writers Girls Basketball All-State Team was released last week. Just catching up on things. Fort Cherry's Beka Bellhy, the O-R Player of the Year, was second team in Class A along with Monessen's Mariah Ward. South Fayette's Erika Ford was third-team in Class AAA. Seton-La Salle's Dennis Squeglia, the former head coach at Peters Township, was the Class AA Coach of the Year.

 CLASS AAAA
FIRST TEAM
Ciara Andrews, Cheltenham, 5-10, sr.
Destiny Brown, Gateway, 5-11, sr.
Meghan Creighton, Archbishop Carroll, sr.
Sarah Curran, Archbishop Carroll, 5-11, jr.
Omowumi Rafiu, Neumann-Goretti, 6-2, sr.
Alex Wheatley, Council Rock South, 6-3, sr.
SECOND TEAM
Bobbi Baker, Oakland Catholic, 5-7, sr.
Ashley Espinosa, Governor Mifflin, 5-4, sr.
Shanice Johnson, Cardinal O’Hara, 6-1, jr.
Rachel Pearson, Archbishop Carroll, 5-7, sr.
Isis Thorpe, Reading, 5-7, jr.
Tara Zdancewicz, Wyoming Valley West, 5-9, sr.
THIRD TEAM
Jackie Falconer, Cumberland Valley, 5-11, jr.
Kayla Grimme, Altoona, 6-1, jr.
Kelly Johnson, Mount Lebanon, 5-6, sr.
Steph Knauer, North Penn, 6-0, sr.
Erica Maciejewski, Red Lion, 5-10, sr.
Brittany Sicinski, Downingtown West, 5-8, sr.
Sammy Stipa, Spring-Ford, 5-5 so.
Player of the Year: Ciara Andrews, Cheltenham
Coach of the Year: Shannon Boyle, Oakland Catholic

CLASS AAA
FIRST TEAM
Amanda Berchtold, Mercyhurst Prep, 5-4, sr.
Kahleah Copper, Prep Charter, 6-2, sr.
Kerry Kinek, Allentown Central Catholic, 6-0, sr.
Celeste Robinson, Jim Thorpe, 5-9, sr.
Porscha Speller, Lancaster Catholic, 5-7 jr.
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, Hopewell, 5-11, jr.
SECOND TEAM
Natalie Hager, Franklin, 5-10, sr.
Mia Hopkins, Pittston Area, 5-11, jr.
Taylor Kaminski, Archbishop Wood, 5-9, sr.
Chassidy Omogrosso, Blackhawk, 5-5, fr.
Brianna Thomas, Gettysburg, 5-10, sr.
Kaylynn Waters, New Castle, 5-9, sr.
THIRD TEAM
Jasmen Clark, Oley Valley, 5-4, sr.
Bridgette Dougherty, Southern Lehigh, 6-1, sr.
Erika Ford, South Fayette, 5-10, sr. Alex Heck, Archbishop Wood, 5-11, sr.
Shelby Lindsay, South Park, 5-10, jr.
Lisa Mirarchi, Malvern Villa Maria, 5-8, jr.
Kalista Walters, Bethlehem Catholic, 6-0, fr.
Player of the Year: Kahleah Copper, Prep Charter
Coach of the Year: Jim Ricci, Archbishop Wood

CLASS AA
FIRST TEAM
Dallas Ely, Montrose, 5-8, sr.
Naje Gibson, Seton-La Salle, 6-0, so.
Ciara Gregory, Jeannette, 5-7, jr.
Lisa Mifsud, Erie Villa Maria, 5-7, sr.
Sierra Moore, Delone Catholic, 5-11, sr.
Megan Quinn, Episcopal Academy, 6-1, jr.
Tierney Pfirman, South Williamsport, 6-2, sr.
SECOND TEAM
Jaryn Garner, Germantown Academy, 5-7, jr.
Karlee McBride, Erie Villa Maria, 5-10, jr.
Megan McGurk, Academy of Notre Dame, 5-6, jr.
Reighly Melochick, Minersville, 5-6, so.
Aimee Oertner, Northern Lehigh, 6-2, sr.
Danielle Terranella, Mid Valley, 5-7, sr.
Erin Waskowiak, Bishop Canevin, G, 5-10, jr.
THIRD TEAM
Kim Andruscavage, Mount Carmel, 5-7, sr.
Aja Ellison, Shipley, 6-3, so.
Angela Heintz, Seton-La Salle, 5-10, jr.
Marley Klunk, York Catholic, 5-11, jr.
Lauren Mayernik, Avonworth, 5-9, sr.
Dianna Thomas-Palmer, Penn Charter, 6-1, sr.
Player of the Year: Sierra Moore, Delone Catholic
Coach of the Year: Dennis Squeglia, Seton-La Salle

CLASS A
FIRST TEAM
Stevie Fortna, Lebanon Catholic, 5-5, sr.
Stacey MacArthur, Delco Christian, 5-5, jr.
Tara Nahodil, Tri-Valley, 6-4, jr.
Katelyn Skinner, Homer-Center, 5-10, sr.
Malia Tate-DeFreitas, Steelton-Highspire, 5-8, jr.
Juli Weber, Tri-Valley, 5-7, jr.
SECOND TEAM
Beka Bellhy, Fort Cherry, 5-9, sr. Carly Erdmann, Forest City, 5-8, so.
Morgan Johnson, Keystone, 5-11, jr.
Justine Seeley, Benton, 6-0, jr.
Lauren Wolosik, Pittsburgh North Catholic, 5-9, jr.
Mariah Ward, Monessen, 5-9, jr. THIRD TEAM
Mary Andrejko, Riverview, 5-8, sr.
Kayla Bates, Bishop Guilfoyle, 5-8, jr.
Ashlee Darby, Vincentian, 5-8, sr.
Jayni Webster, Country Day of Sacred Heart, 5-7, sr.
Brenna Wise, Vincentian, 6-0, fr.
Brooke Scott-Knecht, Liberty, 6-2, sr.
Player of the Year: Malia Tate-DeFreitas, Steel-High
Coach of the Year: Jeffery Chisholm, Steel-High

Bellhy is Observer-Reporter Girls Player of the Year

Senior Beka Bellhy became the second person from Fort Cherry to be the Observer-Reporter Girls Player of the Year. On an exceptional team, Bellhy managed to standout and force opponents to focus their defensive efforts on her.

For more on Bellhy and the O-R All-District Team, click here.

The first team included Carolena Gasbarro of Fort Cherry, Mariah Ward of Monessen, Sammie Weiss of McGuffey and Erika Ford of South Fayette. Weiss is a freshman.

Girls Players of the Year
2012 – Beka Bellhy, Fort Cherry
2011 – Emily Hansen, Canon-McMillan
2010 – Megan Sowers, Beth-Center
2009 – Emily Correal, Peters Township
2008 – Emily Correal, Peters Township
2007 – Emily Correal, Peters Township
2006 – Vanessa Davison, Washington
2005 – Rachel Phillips, West Greene
2004 – Vanessa Davison, Washington
2003 – Amber Harris, Washington
2002 – Emily Briggs, Chartiers-Houston
2001 – Emily Briggs, Chartiers-Houston
2000 – Kristen Lancas, Ringgold
1999 – Lauren Hull, West Greene
1998 – Kristin Polosky, Mapletown
1997 – Amanda Burchett, Trinity
1996 – Gina Naccarato, Monessen
1995 – Gina Naccarato, Monessen
1994 – Gina Naccarato, Monessen
1993 – Gina Naccarato, Monessen
1992 – Elizabeth Proudfit, Washington
1991 – Elizabeth Proudfit, Washington
1990 – Elizabeth Proudfit, Washington
1989 – Pam Noble, Fort Cherry
1988 – Jamie O'Donnell, Burgettstown
1987 – Jamie O'Donnell, Burgettstown
1986 – Kim Spencer, Washington
1985 – Michelle Bazzolli, Chartiers-Houston
1984 – Lynette Schwartz, Peters Township
1983 – Lynn Bazzolli, Chartiers-Houston

Fort Cherry hires Shiel

One football coaching search came to an end Monday night, and it officially brought an end to an era in Fort Cherry football.

Jim Shiel was hired as Fort Cherry's new football coach at Monday night's school board meeting.

Shiel is an 1981 graduate of Fort Cherry and played football for the Rangers under the direction of legendary head coach Jim Garry. One of the longest-tenured coaches in PIAA history, Garry coached Fort Cherry for Fort Cherry football for its first 43 years and won a Washington County-record 265 games. He was succeeded in 2003 by Tim Garry, his son. He coached the past 9 seasons and went 49-42.

A physical education teacher at Fort Cherry, the 49-year-old Shiel coached the 7th & 8th grade team last fall.

Trinity and Jefferson-Morgan have yet to fill their respective positions. Trinity is down to three finalists and expected to hire April 5. Jefferson-Morgan opened its application process once again last week.

Fort Cherry, Monessen back-to-back

For the second time since the PIAA playoffs began, the Fort Cherry girls and Monessen boys teams will play back-to-back games.

Fort Cherry (25-2), an impressive 41-30 winner over powerhouse Bishop Guilfoyle Wednesday, faces North Catholic in the Class A quarterfinals. Tipoff is Saturday at 1 p.m. at Chartiers Valley High School.

The Trojanettes made easy work of Keystone, 56-31, in the second round and have won two recent meetings against Fort Cherry.

NC defeated Fort Cherry in the 2011 WPIAL championship game and during the regular season at the Pittsburgh Classic in Ambridge. Fort Cherry played the last meeting without starting guard Kelly Slates, the Rangers' top defender.

It makes the second time and the second consecutive season in which Fort Cherry has reached the state quarterfinals.

Last year, Monessen reached the PIAA Class AA semifinals. The Greyhounds (25-3) are one win from a return trip but face a difficult obstacle in Quaker Valley (23-4). Tipoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at Chartiers Valley.

Monessen made the long road trip to New Castle Wednesday night and left with a hard-fought 46-40 win over District 10 champion Mercyhurst Prep. The Quakers reached the quarters with a 47-36 win over Sto-Rox.

Fort Cherry and Monessen played back-to-back games last Saturday at Gateway.

Five questions for the spring

1. How will Kayla Briggs adjust to being Chartiers-Houston's full-time pitcher?

Considering Briggs pitches full-time for travel teams and pitched the Bucs out of several tight positions in postseason games, chances are good C-H will once again be among the top teams in Class A.
Briggs batted .646 as a sophomore, but as a relief pitcher during her freshman season Briggs went 1-0 with eight saves and a 0.38 ERA.
Chartiers-Houston ran through WPIAL competition last year, claiming a district title with an undefeated record. The Bucs finished 22-1 but lost their bid to repeat as PIAA champion with a one-run loss to Clarion in the state semifinals.

2. Will relay teams drop the baton or repeat as champions?

Ringgold's 400 relay team won a WPIAL Class AAA championship, while Washington 1,600 relay team won WPIAL Class AA gold and set a championship meet record in the process last May.
Ringgold must wait a month before its regular 4x100 relay team of Quad Law, Alfon Cook, Joey Walls and Demetrius Louis run together as Law is set for knee surgery to remove loose cartilegde from an injury in ninth grade. Louis, who finished second in the 100 dash at the WPIAL championships, is set to return from January shoulder surgery.
The Prexies return Mykhael Kelley, Jordan Thomas, Darius Spinks and Dustin Fuller from a 1,600 relay team that predicted it would set and WPIAL meet record last year and did with a time of 3:26.41. The relay team has established a goal of winning PIAA gold this spring.

3. Can Washington County really be the nation's premier area for girls javelin?

With Fort Cherry's Jessie Merckle and the Canon-McMillan duo of Mira Carrozza and Anna Lombardo, it may well be.
Merckle is a two-time WPIAL Class AA champion, a PIAA silver medalist and a Wake Forest recruit. Carrozza was a WPIAL Class AAA silver medalist last spring and signed with South Florida. Both are considered among the top 10 high school female javelin throwers in the nation.
Lomardo, also a senior, is just outside the top 10 rankings. Lombardo placed 12th at the USATF National Junior Olympics Outdoor Track & Field Championships last July. Merckle PR'd at the event and placed second. Carrozza was 23rd, while Peters Township graduate Kaitlyn Brace (Purdue University) was third.

4. Is Peters Township baseball rebuilding or reloading?

A senior-heavy lineup put runs up in bunched for Peters Township, which lost to Seneca Valley in the WPIAL Class AAAA championship game and the PIAA quarterfinals. Observer-Reporter Player of the Year Justin Bianco was drafted in the third round by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Brady Sheetz, Austin Hancock and Will McClure put up big numbers and Ryan Minteer pitched in nearly every big game.
All five have graduated, but the Indians return Andrew Erenberg. He batted .434 with 28 runs and 20 RBI as a junior. Pitcher Mike Bittel, a Seton Hill recruit, will take on an increased load as the Indians will have to win more low-scoring games than it did the past two years.

5. Can the baseball teams at Waynesburg and Chartiers-Houston duplicate last year's success?

Waynesburg reached the WPIAL Class AA championship game last spring and Chartiers-Houston was the surprise of Class A as it reached the championship game at Consol Energy Park.
Both the Raiders and Bucs return a bulk of talent from last year's teams, which were upended in the first round of the state playoffs. Both also have new coaches.
Kevin Pincavitch. a Mapletown graduate and former member of the Los Angeles Dodgers farm system, is in his first season as Raiders coach. Adam Petras is the new coach at C-H.
Waynesburg will be among the favorites in Class AA with a group of returners which includes Stephen McCaw, Joe Monica and Alex Swauger. Chartiers-Houston won't surprise anyone this year as it returns top pitchers Dylan Pounds and Josh Counihan.

One out of 256

Once Tuesday's play-in games are completed, a total of 256 boys and girls basketball teams will play in the first round of the PIAA basketball playoffs.

Of those 256 teams, a grand total of one hails from Washington County or Greene County.

Fort Cherry enters the PIAA Class A girls playoffs as the No. 3 seed from the WPIAL. The Rangers (23-2), whose only losses are to powers Vincentian Academy and North Catholic (both in tightly contested games), play Berlin (23-3) Saturday at Gateway High School. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m and will be followed by the Monessen boys against Westmont Hilltop at 6 p.m.

With a senior-dominated lineup and all-state caliber players in Beka Bellhy and Carolena Gasbarro plus a Division I track recruit in Jessie Merckle (Wake Forest), Fort Cherry is capable of making a considerable PIAA run.

Of course, if the Rangers get by Berlin, they'll likely draw perennial power Bishop Guilfoyle in the second round. Guilfoyle beat FC in the quarterfinals a year ago.

While Fort Cherry may be good, it's safe to say the 2011-12 basketball season is in a down cycle in most other area locations.

There were some good stories ... the Peters Township boys playing some of its best basketball under difficult circumstances, the West Greene girls winning a playoff game for the first time, the McGuffey boys making the playoffs for only the second time and the Trinity boys coming within a few points of qualifying fot the PIAA Class AAA playoffs to name a few.

Will next season be better? Perhaps. At least it should on the boys side.

Players like Gabe Pritz (Peters Township), Josh Wise (Washington), Zach Challingsworth (South Fayette) and Christian Koroly (Trinity) had strong junior seasons. Peters Township and Trinity return the vast majority of experience from solid teams. Washington drops to Class AA.

On the girls side, Fort Cherry will still be good, but the loss of all those seniors coupled with a move to a Class AA section with Seton-La Salle and Bishop Canevin will be a challenge. Chartiers-Houston brings back most of its players, but is joining FC in the same section. Wash High will be improved but need a scorer.

The number should be higher. It better be as the only way to put fewer teams into the state playoffs is qualifying no teams.

Observer-Reporter WPIAL girls basketball rankings

Class AAAA
1. Oakland Catholic 21-1
2. Mt. Lebanon 19-2
3. Gateway 19-2
4. Penn-Trafford 18-4
5. North Allegheny 17-5

Class AAA
1. Hopewell 20-2
2. South Park 19-2
3. Chartiers Valley 19-2
4. Blackhawk 18-3
5. Uniontown 17-4

Class AA
1. Seton-La Salle 20-0
2. Bishop Canevin 17-4
3. Riverside 16-5
4. Deer Lakes 16-4
5. Steel Valley 16-5

Class A
1. Vincentian Academy 20-1
2. North Catholic 17-4
3. Fort Cherry 21-1
4. Monessen 19-3
5. Quigley Catholic 18-4

Observer-Reporter WPIAL girls basketball rankings

Class AAAA
1. Oakland Catholic 20-0
2. Mt. Lebanon 17-2
3. Gateway 17-2
4. Penn-Trafford 16-4
5. North Allegheny 15-5

Class AAA
1. South Park 17-1
2. Hopewell 17-2
3. Chartiers Valley 17-2
4. Blackhawk 16-3
5. Mt. Pleasant 15-3

Class AA
1. Seton-La Salle 17-0
2. Bishop Canevin 15-3
3. Deer Lakes 14-4
4. Steel Valey 15-4
5. Riverside 15-4

Class A
1. Vincentian Academy 19-0
2. North Catholic 15-4
3. Fort Cherry 17-1
4. Monessen 16-3
5. Chartiers-Houston 16-4

National Signing Day

Division I college football coaches across the country are waiting by fax machines to receive binding National Letters of Intent from high school seniors. For many who follow high school and college sports, National Signing Day is one of the biggest days of the year.

For instance, Pitt fans claimed a minor victory in landing Sto-Rox linebacker Deasyean Rippy sent a letter to Panthers coaches instead of West Virginia this morning. And they rejoiced yet again when heralded quarterback recruit Chad Voytik sent his letter via fax and Hopewell standout and PIAA career rushing leader Rushel Shell did the same.

The local scene isn't being followed nationally this year because the senior football class lacked major football recruits, but that doesn't mean schools aren't busy sending out faxes. The Varsity Letters will provide occasional updates today.

One of the first to sign today was Fort Cherry senior Jessie Merckle, who is headed to Wake Forest for track. Merckle is a two-time WPIAL Class AA javelin champion and was one of the country's top high school performers in the event the past year.

* Wash High graduate Zach Barnes has signed to play football at Alderson-Broaddus (W.Va.).

Barnes, a 2011 graduate, originally planned to join the football team at West Liberty State last fall but opted to attend community college for a year. Alderson-Broaddus, which is starting a football program this year, offered Barnes a full scholarship.

The school will compete at the Division II level as part of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

* Beth-Center senior Sal Faieta signed to play football at Slippery Rock.

Faieta holds several Beth-Center passing records, but was recruited to the Rock to play linebacker. He was a four-year starter for the Bulldogs on the defensive side.

* Three female athletes from Canon-McMillan today signed, two with Division I teams.

Ashley Hull, the goalie for the Big Macs' soccer team, signed with Miami (Ohio), a member of the Mid-American Conference. Hull is a four-year letterwinner and she kicked for the football team too.

Mira Carrozza will join the South Florida track team. Carrozza, like Merckle, throws the javelin,

Becca Veres, one of Hull's teammates on the girls soccer team, has signed with Slippery Rock.

* Washington senior Joe Phillips signed with The Citadel, which competes at the FCS level (formerly I-AA). Phillips chose The Citadel over Army and was recruited to play both sides of the football.

* Peters Township running back Andrew Erenberg signed to play at Fordham. Erenberg was an all-state player as a senior.

* Clayton Evans, who opened a lot of holes for Erenberg during the regular season, signed with Division II Notre Dame (Ohio) College.
* Peters Township midfielder Matt Venanzi signed with Pitt. Venanzi is a two-time all-state selection and a rare four-year letterwinner for PT boys soccer. His father Mark also played at Pitt.

* Ringgold's Alfon Cook signed with Slippery Rock. Cook was an all-conference selection at cornerback and wide receiver and one of the area's premier kick returners.

* A pair of Peters Township softball players - Tara Konopko and Morgan Matetic - signed with Division I programs. Konopka, a pitcher, is headed to Drexel. Matetic, a shortstop, signed with George Washington.

* Peters Township golfer Jeremy Merich signed with St. Francis (Pa.) as the Indians golf program added to its long list of D1 golfers.

* Trinity's Hunter Bigler, one of four left-handed pitchers on the Hillers' roster, signed with IUP. Bigler had received Division I interest.

* Mike Bittel owns one of the few no-hitters thrown in the history of Peters Township American Legion baseball. He accomplished that last June against Elizabeth Forward. A closer on the high school team in 2011, Bittel signed with Seton Hill.

* Courtney Schratz, a member of the Peters Township field hockey team, signed with Robert Morris. Katie Danning, part of PT's girls lacrosse team, signed with Lafayette.

* Charleroi's Mike Kope signed with Slippery Rock to play football. Kope was one of two Cougars to make the All-Interstate Conference team.

Observer-Reporter WPIAL girls basketball rankings

Girls
Class AAAA
1. Oakland Catholic    17-0
2. Mt. Lebanon    15-2
3. Pine-Richland    12-4
4. Gateway    14-2
5. Hempfield    14-2

Class AAA
1. South Park    15-1
2. Blackhawk    16-1
3. Hopewell    15-2
4. Chartiers Valley    13-2
5. New Castle    11-5

Class AA
1. Seton-La Salle    15-0
2. Bishop Canevin    14-3
3. Avonworth    13-3
4. Riverside    14-3
5. Greensburg Central Catholic    12-3

Class A
1. Vincentian Academy    16-0
2. North Catholic    14-4
3. Fort Cherry    17-1
4. Monessen    13-3
5. Chartiers-Houston    14-4

Friday notebook

Pitt basketball fans can see heralded recruit Steven Adams, a 7-0 center from New Zealand, in person Sunday when Notre Dame Prep (Mass.) plays Massanutten Academy (Va.) at the PBC Legends Classic at Ambridge.The game is at 2 p.m.
Adams is considered one of the top senior prospects and Pitt's biggest recruit since, well, Khem Birch, who has transferred to UNLV.
* Never heard of a police investigation into a high school football program. It's happening at Peters Township.

PT football program raises flag - Washington County PA News - www.observer-reporter.com

This has the potential to be a big story depending on the results of the investigation.

* If the Fort Cherry girls basketball team beats North Catholic Saturday and finishes the regular season with an undefeated record, the Rangers deserve the top seed in the WPIAL Class A playoffs.

* After covering the Montour at South Fayette boys basketball game last week, the guess here is that the Spartans will be very difficult to beat once Ryan Lewis gets into basketball shape.

* Fort Cherry senior Corey Garry will decide between Robert Morris and Clarion over the next few days.

Garry, an all-conference linebacker on three occasions, has offers from both schools. He's also the top-ranked WPIAL Class AA heavyweight wrestler.

Tanner Garry, his cousin, recently accepted an offer to be a preferred walk-on at Bowling Green. He tried to get Falcons coaches to taker a close look at Corey.

"I had as much drive to get Corey to come to school with me as I had to get into school," Tanner Garry said. "I showed the coached Corey's highlight film and pictures of Corey just so they could see how big he was."

* Monessen junior Chavas Rawlins was visited by Penn State Friday and received an offer from Pitt Wednesday. The quarterback figures to be one of the WPIAL's most coveted football prospects.

Just don't expect the 6-3 Rawlins to solely concentrate on football.

Rawlins plays football and is also part of the boys soccer team during the fall. He plays basketball in the winter and has played baseball at Monessen. This spring, Rawlins will play baseball and add track to his of athletic duties.

That makes Rawlins, who sports a 3.3 GPA, a five-sport athlete.

* Chartiers-Houston boys basketball has steadily improved during the two years that Eugene Briggs has been the head coach.

Briggs believe his team took a significant step with Tuesday's home win against Bentworth.

"I think it validates that we're a decent team," Briggs said. "We're three possessions away from being 13-3. There's a big difference between 10-6 and 13-3, especially when people look at your record. To beat a team that had one loss coming in, that was big."

Girls basketball, week in review

Team of the Week
West Greene
If the regular season ended today, West Greene would enter the WPIAL Class A playoffs as the third-place team in Section 3 behind top-ranked Fort Cherry and fifth-ranked Chartiers-Houston.
Last week, the Pioneers picked up a key section win over Avella and followed with another against Jefferson-Morgan Thursday night.
First-year coach Jordan Watson is getting solid play from sophomore Cheyenne Miller, and West Greene (10-6, 5-3) takes a four-game win streak into Thursday's game at Mapletown.
The last time West Greene qualified for the WPIAL playoffs came in the 1999-2000 season, when they were in Class AA.

Runner-up
Fort Cherry
The Rangers are 16-0, and they picked up a pair of wins against quality opponents last week in Chartiers-Houston and Beaver Falls, both on the road.
Rangers senior Carolena Gasbarro has scored in double figures in all 16 games for Fort Cherry. Gasbarro is one of three local players – Bentworth's Jessica Dorazio and Monessen's Mariah Ward are the others – to accomplish that feat for their respective teams this season.

Starting five
Amanda Brown, Carmichaels
Carolena Gasbarro, Fort Cherry
Morgan Kurtz, Trinity
Cheyenne Miller, West Greene
Mariah Ward, Monessen
First sub
Anna Shashura, Beth-Center

Game of the Week
Washington 58, Bentworth 57
At 14-1, Bentworth is off to its best start in team history, but free-throw shooting has been a problem spot for the Bearcats. A 10-for-23 performance at Washington did them no favors in a key Section 4-AA game last Thursday.
The Prexies knocked the Bearcats from unbeaten status with the victory, and they took the lead for good in overtime on an old-fashioned three-point play from Angelica Rivera. Washington had four players score in double figures, led by Shyahian Rutter's 12 points.

Observer-Reporter WPIAL girls basketball rankings

Class AAAA
1. Oakland Catholic 15-0
2. Gateway 11-1
3. Mt. Lebanon 13-2
4. Pine-Richland 10-4
5. North Allegheny 12-3

Class AAA
1. South Park 12-1
2. New Castle 10-3
3. Blackhawk 13-1
4. Hopewell 12-2
5. Chartiers Valley 11-2

Class AA
1. Seton-La Salle 13-0
2. Bishop Canevin 12-3
3. Ford City 13-2
4. Avonworth 11-3
5. Riverside 12-3

Class A
1. Fort Cherry 15-0
2. Vincentian Academy 14-0
3. North Catholic 11-4
4. Monessen 12-3
5. Chartiers-Houston 11-4

One, two, three, four I declare a Twitter war

Quite an interesting Twitter battle going on today between students at Chartiers-Houston and Fort Cherry high schools, whose rival girls basketball teams play tonight in a key Section 3 contest between a pair of top-five Class A teams.

Some of the tweets are humorous. Some factual. Some mind-blowing incorrect. Some mean-spirited.

Time for TVL to offer some thoughts.

You know you're from Chartiers-Houston when:

1. Your softball team has won seven WPIAL championships, one state title and ranks with any program in terms of sustained success over a 25-year period.
2. You fielded the first 4,000-yard rusher in WPIAL history.
3. Your wrestling team was so good in the early 1980s that it won the PIAA Class AAA team championship against teams up to six times larger.
4. Your athletic facilities are as nice as any school competing primarily at the Class A level.
5. Your baseball team regularly competes for WPIAL championships.

You know you're from Fort Cherry when:

1. Your small community is considered a cradle of NFL coaches, including Marvin Lewis and Marty Schottenheimer.
2. A hard-worker named Perry Kemp took the hard road to the NFL ... from Fort Cherry to Cal U to the USFL to Green Bay, where he became immortalized in Techmo Bowl.
3. That Schottenheimer fella led a group to a PIAA basketball championship.
4. You know where you were when Mike Vernillo broke the WPIAL rushing record in 1999.
5. A school known as a wrestling community has fielded one of the better small public school girls basketball teams in recent memory and two of the most exciting players (Dan Davis, Nate Bellhy) of the last 15 years.

Observer-Reporter WPIAL girls basketball rankings

Class AAAA
1. Oakland Catholic 13-0
2. Gateway 9-1
3. Mt. Lebanon 11-2
4. Pine-Richand 8-4
5. North Allegheny 10-3

Class AAA
1. South Park 10-1
2. New Castle 8-3
3. Blackhawk 10-1
4. Hopewell 10-2
5. Chartiers Valley 9-2

Class AA
1. Seton-La Salle 11-0
2. Bishop Canevin 10-2
3. Riverside 11-1
4. Ford City 11-2
5. Greensburg Central Catholic 9-1

Class A
1. Fort Cherry 13-0
2. Vincentian Academy 12-0
3. North Catholic 9-3
4. Monessen 10-3
5. Chartiers-Houston 10-3

Week in review, girls basketball

Team of the Week
Washington
A youthful roster and difficult schedule wasn't a great mix for Wash High early, and started the season with five losses in its first seven games.
With the Section 4-AA schedule underway, the Prexies are moving in the right direction. Last week, a pair of wins over Waynesburg and Brownsville gave them a 3-1 section mark. Washington (6-6, 4-1) isn't scoring a lot of points, but wins are wins.
And the win streak ran to three games with a victory Monday night at Charleroi.

Runner-up
Fort Cherry
Rangers coach Bob Miles isn't thrilled his team holds the top spot in the Observer-Reporter's Class A rankings, but it's difficult to argue that Fort Cherry doesn't deserve the distinction.
Undefeated Fort Cherry (11-0) won three games last week, including a double-digit victory over Class AAAA Canon-McMillan. The Rangers also secured wins over Avella and Jefferson-Morgan.

Starting five
Beka Bellhy, Fort Cherry
Tori Foster, Chartiers-Houston
Caitlin McLuckie South Fayette
Melissa Phillis, Burgettstown
Mya Williams, Washington
First sub
Morgan Berardi, Carmichaels

Game of the Week
Mapletown 44, Geibel Catholic 40
There's a lot to be said for toughing things out, and sticking with a team, no matter the results.
For Mapletown, a positive result was finally posted last Thursday when the Maples beat Geibel, 44-40, in a non-section game.
It snapped a 38-game losing streak, which dated back to Jan. 19, 2010 – a 57-40 win at West Greene.
Kristi Guritza and Sarah Taylor scored 15 points apiece for the Maples, who were without head coach Autumn Willis. The former Carmichaels standout received two technical fouls in the Maples' previous game and was suspended for the Geibel game.

Observer-Reporter WPIAL girls basketball rankings

Class AAAA
1. Oakland Catholic 11-0
2. Mt. Lebanon 9-1
3. Gateway 6-1
4. North Allegheny 9-2
5. Bethel Park 7-3

Class AAA
1. South Park 8-1
2. New Castle 6-3
3. Hopewell 9-1
4. Blackhawk 8-1
5. Elizabeth Forward 10-1

Class AA
1. Seton-La Salle 9-0
2. Greensburg Central Catholic 7-0
3. Bishop Canevin 7-2
4. Burrell 9-0
5. Riverside 9-1

Class A
1. Fort Cherry 11-0
2. Vincentian Academy 10-0
3. North Catholic 8-3
4. Monessen 8-2
5. Riverview 8-2

Observer-Reporter WPIAL girls basketball rankings

Class AAAA
1. Oakland Catholic 9-0
2. Mt. Lebanon 8-1
3. Gateway 5-1
4. Pine-Richland 6-3
5. North Allegheny 8-2

Class AAA
1. Hopewell 9-0
2. South Park 7-1
3. New Castle 5-3
4. Blackhawk 6-1
5. Elizabeth Forward 9-1

Class AA
1. Seton-La Salle 8-0
2. Greensburg Central Catholic 6-0
3. Bishop Canevin 5-2
4. Burrell 8-0
5. Riverside 7-1

Class A
1. Fort Cherry 9-0
2. Vincentian Academy 9-0
3. North Catholic 6-3
4. Monessen 7-2
5. St. Joseph 5-3